


Defining Beauty

by AnitaB



Category: Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 04:52:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14465418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnitaB/pseuds/AnitaB
Summary: I own nothing and nothing I do own would be worth the lawyer fees of a lawsuit. No infringement intended.I couldn’t help but find it incredibly cute that Nichols watches Wheeler like he does.  I wondered what might happen if Wheeler noticed the attention he always pays her.  And it’s always fun to play dress-up to make people notice each other a little more… ahem… specifically.I am the queen of romantic smut.  Committed romantic sex ahead. Zach/Megan.This is another hard drive special... but hey, why not share.





	1. Chapter 1

Title: Defining Beauty  


Author: AnitaB  


Author’s notes: I own nothing and nothing I do own would be worth the lawyer fees of a lawsuit. No infringement intended.  
I couldn’t help but find it incredibly cute that Nichols watches Wheeler like he does. I wondered what might happen if Wheeler noticed the attention he always pays her. And it’s always fun to play dress-up to make people notice each other a little more… ahem… specifically. 

I am the queen of romantic smut. Committed romantic sex ahead. Zach/Megan.

Defining Beauty  


By AnitaB  


Chapter one: Dancing around the topic

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

Zach Nichols realized he was doing more than looking at her. He was staring at her. It wasn’t like he didn’t watch her on a regular basis. His eyes always tracked the tiny details of his partner across the wide surface of their desks. He knew exactly how she took her coffee, what she liked to eat for lunch, how much her desk chair was making her lower back ache. Zach could read her face like an open book. And right now, his partner Megan Wheeler was very uncomfortable under the weight of his gaze. 

But, damn, she was beautiful. From her short hair, to her soft, warm eyes, and her softly pointed chin, from the pronounced curve of her stomach, to the wide, careful stance of small feet in high heels. Megan was always pretty, but the extra time put into her appearance for tonight’s formal event… made it hard for him to concentrate. /\Megan,/\ 

“Because you’re beautiful.” Zach watched her eyes drop and her chin dip. She clasped her hands together just under the curve of her stomach, a move he knew from experience was a sign of her self-consciousness about her size. He moved almost before he realized it, sliding one hand over her stomach to rest just above her hands. His other hand caught her chin and tilted it up to bring her eyes to his. “Look at me, Megan.” 

She didn’t want to, he could feel it in the tense way she held herself and the slow relenting of her muscles. Even more slowly, her hands moved to cover his against the fabric of her dress. “What, Zach?” 

Even now, she wasn’t quite meeting his eyes. But that was about to change. “I just told you that you’re beautiful, but you don’t believe me, do you?” Her chin tried to drop but he didn’t let her go, long fingers curving along her cheek to keep her face up. “Why don’t you believe me, Megan?”

The short little laugh on her lips wasn’t at all cheerful but she finally looked him right in the eyes. “This is why.” Her two hands pressed his one tighter against the curve of her stomach, right up against the kicking of her baby girl. “I’m six months pregnant and the baby’s father will be in prison until she’s in middle school if we’re lucky. The only people that look at me as anything other than a cop do it with pity in their eyes.” 

/\Like hell, I do./\ Zach spread his fingers wide over her stomach, stepping closer and tilting her chin higher to keep her gaze. “Have I ever looked at you with pity, Megan? Ever?” 

She shifted under his hands, but he wasn’t about to let her pull away until she said it. “No, Zach, you haven’t. I don’t think you have any idea what that means to me.” Her eyes dropped even though his hand kept her chin up. “Thank you for that.”

“Megan,” He wasn’t exactly sure what he was about to say, but he didn’t get the time to figure it out, or to get any of those words to his lips. 

Ross stepped out of his office in a monkey suit very similar to the one Zach was wearing now. “Well, people, the taxpayers are eager to see their dollars at work. Put on your civil servant faces and get to the banquet hall.” 

Zach flinched just a little and stepped back, letting an equally shaky Megan out of his arms, out of his hands. “We should…” 

Megan took another step further away and he resisted the urge to close the distance. But the look on her face was almost panicked. If he pushed her too hard or too fast, she might start running. “Yeah, we should get to the banquet.” 

Zach helplessly followed her out to the car and watched her climb behind the wheel. He didn’t have the slightest idea what he should do, but he absolutely couldn’t let her go home tonight still thinking she wasn’t beautiful, still feeling pitiful. What to do about it….

000

She could still feel it, could feel the heat of his hands as if they were still on her skin. The baby girl in her stomach seemed to agree, kicking a samba rhythm right into the spot heated up by his wide palm and long fingers. Megan could feel her pulse pounding under the hot skin of her throat, where he had cupped her face to make her look at him. And what she’d thought she saw in his eyes…

/\No,/\ Megan mentally slapped the brakes on the voice in her head. She was not thinking about the look on his face as he’d stared at her. She was not thinking about the way he’d touched her and the words he’d said while looking her in the eyes. She was not thinking about the strength and determination in his arms when he’d held her close. 

She was having a really hard time not thinking about it. /\Damn you, Zach Nichols,/\ 

The drive wasn’t nearly distracting enough, even with busy Manhattan streets to negotiate. It certainly didn’t help that Zach watched her during the whole drive. Megan could feel him thinking, but that man was always hard to read, especially when you were half afraid to look at him at all. 

Megan kept her eyes safely off his face as she climbed out of the car and handed the keys to the valet. She kept her hands clasped in front of her stomach for the walk into the banquet hall, even after he placed a hand solidly against the small of her back within three feet of the car. Zach always walked close to her, but now… she could feel the heat of him burning into her side. He stayed close through the walk across the room to the bar. He could grab any passing glass of champagne, but she needed something without alcohol for the various toasts tonight. “One cranberry juice please,” 

Megan tried to subtly shift away from his hand at her back but he wasn’t having it. Zach just stepped closer against her side to make his own drink order. “Make that two.” 

/\Enough, already./\ “Not drinking tonight? We’re off duty and the open bar is on the city’s tab.” This time she turned out of his arm to claim a barstool just out of his reach. “You even have a built in designated driver.” Megan patted her stomach, resisting the urge to half-scrub at the hot outline of his hand that she could still feel. “Relax a little, cut loose, have some fun.” He’d be easier to deal with a little tipsy. Alcohol softened the edges enough to maybe get him off track. Whatever that track was. 

“Maybe later,” Zach was almost smiling at her, but it was that ‘I have a plan,’ or the ‘I know something you don’t know,’ smile. Damn she hated that smile right now, even if it did look good on him. His eyes were still on her face as he slid onto the barstool right next to hers. He even rested a hand against her back for a few moments as he settled in. “I’m enjoying myself just fine right now.” His fingers left her back to lay temptingly close to hers on the edge of the bar. “Here with you,”

Megan felt her eyes widen against her will, felt her hand almost itch to reach for his. His smile would probably get wider and his voice might hit that low rumbly tone again. /\What in the hell are you doing to me, Zach?/\ 

000

She was trying to run, but he wasn’t about to let her get away. Zach knew he was pushing a little, but the heat of her felt so good under his hands. And even after he let go of her, he could still feel the warmth in his palms. 

Megan pulled away from his hand, hiding behind her sense of humor. “You even have a built in designated driver.” He watched as her fingers patted her stomach, almost exactly where he’d pressed his whole hand just a little while ago. He wanted to put his palm back against that smooth hot curve, maybe little Megan would kick him some more. “Relax a little, cut loose, have some fun.” 

The way she held herself on that stool said that she didn’t mind the idea of him getting sloshed. Anything that might happen could be written off as stress or alcohol. /\No way, sweetheart./\ He wasn’t about to let her ignore tonight because he was drunk. And Zach didn’t need alcohol for courage when he could read her mix of emotions on her face like this. Sliding a hand along her back again, he claimed the barstool next to hers, taking back the distance she’d fled. “Maybe later,” Zach moved his hand to rest a hairsbreadth from hers on the surface of the bar, just to watch the weird tension climb her back. “I’m enjoying myself just fine right now.” He paused a moment, enjoying the look on her face and the slightest twitch of her fingers. Like she was trying not to reach out for him. “Here with you.” 

Her eyes widened and he loved it. He felt that surprised and almost panicked look on her face make his fingers itch. Zach wanted to touch her, wanted to feel the heat of her under his hands. He wanted to feel the curve of her stomach, make those little fingers of hers tremble a little more. But he’d give anything not to scare her away. How could he make a really good excuse to touch her that wouldn’t send her running? 

Sipping his cranberry juice, he found a plan in the music started up gently across the room. /\A dance floor./\ Glancing over, Zach couldn’t hide a smile at the way Megan was hiding in her glass of juice. Another second and it would be empty and she’d have nowhere left to hide. He tossed back the last of his juice and stood up next to her barstool. “Dance with me?” 

Her wide eyes locked to the hand held out to her before they moved to his face. Her lips moved silently a moment before she managed a word, but only one. “Why?” 

He wanted to hug her, right now, to cuddle that sad, cynical little look off her face. Megan simply didn’t get it. There wasn’t a man in his right mind that wouldn’t want someone like her in his arms. She was strong, beautiful, smart, and thoughtful. And he wanted her closer. Now. “Because you’re beautiful and you’re my partner. Now come here.” 

Her hand lifted to his even though her eyes called him crazy. “Fine, but only one dance.” 

/\We’ll see about that./\ He wrapped his fingers through hers and led her out to the middle of the dance floor. Settling one palm against the line of her back, Zach pulled her close enough for the curve of her stomach to barely rest against his body. Her hand rested against his shoulder with the barest of trembling in her fingers. It took a little longer for her head to lift up and her eyes to meet his. “We were interrupted earlier, Megan. Why do you think you’re not beautiful because you’re pregnant?” 

Her lips made a perfect “O” of shock and he pulled her closer while she clearly wasn’t thinking yet. The tiniest little thump of a baby’s kick warmed his stomach. “Why are you doing this to me, Zach? What’s the point of it all?” He was forced to tighten the hold of his arms around her when she tried to jerk away. “Just … just let it go, okay? Just drop it, for me, please.” 

The pain on her face made only one answer possible. /\No, I’m not letting it or you go./\ Zach locked an arm tight around her waist and held her against his ribs. “No, Megan, I’m not just dropping it. You matter too much to me to just let it go. I’m your partner.” His hand rubbed up her back to cup her cheek. “Talk to me.” 

000

She should have known. Zach never forgot anything and he never let go of any idea that crossed his mind. /\Determined bastard./\ He was not going to let it go. Zach wouldn’t let her go either… even when she asked. 

Zach wrapped his arm tight around her body, pulling her hard against his ribs. “No, Megan, I’m not just dropping it. You matter too much to me to just let it go. I’m your partner.” Megan tried to look away but her determined partner was not letting that happen. He moved his hand up her back to cup her cheek, forcing her to look into the dark eyes that would strip her of her ability to resist. “Talk to me.” 

/\Zach,/\ She couldn’t look him in the eyes right now. Megan had no idea what words would come out of her mouth if she did. She leaned up to wrap both arms around his neck and hid her face against his shoulder. His body went still against hers for just a moment before he rubbed both hands up and down her back and guided them both into a slow dance. Granted, they were in the classic married couple’s position, but it looked less like she was clinging and more like an embrace. 

And she couldn’t mind his attempt to protect her yet again even though the last thing her fucked up life needed was another rumor of a romance. With a former fiancé in jail, a pregnancy six months along, and no man on her horizon… seducing her partner would be the next logical jump in the rumor mill. They had no idea what he really meant to her. And sometimes, neither did she. Megan clenched her fingers in the collar of his suit and heard herself whisper his name. 

“I’m here, Megan, I’ve got you. Please talk to me.” His hand braced warm and strong in the small of her back. His voice was that low, almost rumbly sound against her ear. She could feel the warmth of him pressed close all the way down her body, could even feel his heartbeat against her ribs. “Please, let me help you.” 

/\Like you’re gonna take no for an answer, anyway, Zach./\ She nodded against his shoulder and relaxed just a little into the dance. If he’d just give her a little more time like this, then she’d try to talk. Slowly, Megan lifted her head and rested one hand in its place on her partner’s chest just to feel his heart beat under her fingers. She could feel those dark eyes on her face, waiting for her own. Long fingers rubbed her back, seeming to find every sore, stiff muscle under her skin. “Zach, what is happening to us? What is this?” Megan finally let her eyes climb the height difference to meet his. Concern and caring were written in his eyes. But not pity, not a single ounce of pity. 

“I’ve been watching you slowly break inside for weeks, months, Megan. And I’m not standing by for it.” One big hand moved from her back to cup itself against her stomach. “You are a smart, strong, independent and beautiful woman. Motherhood only makes you more beautiful, Megan. I don’t know how you don’t see that.” It was warm, his eyes burned into hers, his voice heated the air and made it hard to breathe. And his hand… felt hotter than the electric blanket the baby made her sleep under. The infant inside her seemed to cuddle herself into the heat of Zach’s palm on her mother’s stomach. 

It felt so good to be held like this, but Megan absolutely couldn’t let herself get used to this. Nothing this good could be real, could last. “Because I’m a fool, Zach. I was a stupid idiot to let myself be tricked and lied to by a snake in the grass with a pretty face. I gave my baby girl a criminal for a father, what kind of mother does that make me?” 

She felt his arms tighten just a little and knew he’d heard the catch in her throat and the pain in her voice. If he leaned down any closer, he’d be whispering against her lips. “A human one. Everyone has been fooled by someone they should have been able to trust. And a father is just biology. This little girl is the only good thing he gave you. You get to pick anyone you want to be her daddy.”

For just a moment, Megan’s mind directly disobeyed her. She saw it in bright Technicolor detail. And it was beautiful. 

**_He would be a wonderful daddy. Those strong hands would carefully cradle the newborn girl. Long fingers would curve around a tiny cheek, cup and support a little head. He would croon to the child in that deep, rumbly voice as he held her close to his heart. The picture in Megan’s head suddenly took on a very specific detail. She watched as Zach would press a tender, loving kiss to her lips and climb out of their bed to lift the crying baby girl from her cradle. The light from the lamp glinted off the gold band on his ring finger as he would carry her baby girl back to their bed and to her. “It’s okay, daddy’s got you.”_**

********

********

The heat in her blood suddenly turned ice cold. /\No,/\ She couldn’t… she just couldn’t stand here in his arms, imagining a life with Zach and not do something incredibly stupid. Megan was about to do something there would be no coming back from if she spent one more minute in his arms like this. “Zach,” Megan tried to pull back but his arms wouldn’t let her. A strong hand tightened against the small of her back, pressing her closer to his chest. His arms curled around her waist, pinning her against his heart beat and into the look in his eyes. /\I can’t… I have to… let go…Damnit, Zach./\ 

She couldn’t move and every nerve in her body was caught between the struggle to get away and the desire to give in. And then Zach tipped the scales with an angle of his head and the low sound of her name. Catching both hands in the cloth of his jacket, Megan dragged him down to plant a hard, deep kiss on those lips and felt the reaction ricochet through his muscles. His arms tightened and then twitched, just enough to loosen his grip. His hand lifted from her back and her fight or flight response kicked in. With a low moan, Megan dragged herself from his lips and his arms, fleeing across the dance floor to the sound of her name behind her. /\God, what am I doing?/\ 

000


	2. Chapter 2

000  
Defining Beauty

By AnitaB 

Chapter 2: Convincing the Lady 

The pain in her voice, her face was more than he could stand. Zach’s arms tightened on their own. He leaned close and closer, desperate to somehow make her really hear him. To make her understand and feel just how wrong she was about herself. To see herself and her unborn baby like he saw them… “A human one. Everyone has been fooled by someone they should have been able to trust. And a father is just biology. This little girl is the only good thing he gave you. You get to pick anyone you want to be her daddy.”

Her face softened for a brief moment then went just as quickly bloodless. He’d never seen someone go that pale that fast. Zach tightened his grip on her in time with her rasp of his name. Just in time, apparently, as Megan tried to pull away. He pulled her closer, leaning down to try to see her face. /\What the hell… What did I say wrong?/\ Zach opened his mouth to ask for an explanation, to apologize if need be, anything to get that look off her face. But all he got out was her name. 

Megan’s body went stone still in his arms for an instant before she reacted in a way that he never expected. Tiny hands fisted in the front of his jacket and Zach found himself being dragged down against her lips. Megan kissed him, soft lips and almost panicked tongue exploring his mouth. Shock and heat raced each other through his body, tightening and melting his nerves along the way. She was so warm, so soft, and kissing him with a desperate intensity he could only match mindlessly. He lifted a hand from her back, about to cup that stubborn chin to keep her close. Zach wanted this kiss, wanted to slow her down and feel her, really feel her. He wanted to explore the soft warmth of her lips and taste the heat of her. Before his fingers could reach the soft line of her cheek, Megan jerked out of his arms and headed across the dance floor. 

“Megan,” Zach found his hand hanging in mid-air as if reaching for her would bring her back. He curled his fingers into a fist and dropped the hand to his side. She had kissed him, really kissed him. And it had felt… /\Like heaven,/\ Megan wasn’t running from this, from him. Not if he could help it. “Megan, sweetheart.” His feet moved on their own, following the sound of her high heels out of the main room and down the hall. The click-clack stopped just before he caught up with her near the ladies room door. The sight nearly broke his heart. Megan was leaning against a wall with her face buried in her hands. Her fingers were shaking and her shoulders were tight and squared off. Every inch of her body was braced as if she were being attacked somehow. Whatever words he might have been looking for inside his head just disappeared. But like the old cliché, actions spoke louder.

Zach stepped close enough to gently grab both her arms above the elbow and pull her close against his chest. He found his hands cupping her face and tilting it up. As soon as he got her eyes, something inside him just snapped. “Megan,” Zach helplessly leaned in and ever so carefully caught her lips with his in a slow, soft, gentle kiss. She was stiff and still in his arms for the time of a few panicked beats of his heart. Then Megan softened. Her hands slid up his chest to hold onto his shoulders. Her lips opened under his to give him the warm sweet taste of her on his tongue. Her body melted against his, stiff muscles relaxing into the stroke of his hand up and down her back. 

She was warm, soft, and so sweet he couldn’t breathe. Zach adored the feel of her relaxed and eager in his arms. He helplessly held her tighter as her hands clutched at the back of his neck and her body pressed closer along his. The curve of her stomach called to his hands from where it rested against his body. Weakly breaking the kiss, Zach rubbed one palm over her stomach and searched her eyes with his own. “Zach,” The way she said his name put a low groan to his lips and he dipped his head for a quick kiss before pulling back to see her face. 

He needed to see her face and to have her see his. With one hand cupping her cheek and the other cradling her stomach, Zach tried this again. “Megan, you are beautiful and so is your little girl.” He pressed closer, leaning down for just another moment of the heat of her kiss. Zach chastely explored the sweet warmth of her lips until her arms tightened and she went up on her toes to deepen the kiss. Then Zach dragged himself back just a little, adoring the soft heat in her eyes. “Do you believe me now?”

There was still an edge of something in her eyes, but it was softer and surrounded by heat. Her fingers slid along the front of his shirt from his heart to the wide brace of his shoulders. Her tongue traced the edge of her lip as her eyes locked on his mouth. She might not really believe him, but his sweet Megan was thinking about kissing him, not about her ex-fiancé or being pitied. It was a start, anyway. “You’re nuts, Zach, but thank you.” 

He was a persistent man. He’d have her fully convinced soon enough.

000

He wouldn’t let go of her hand, a crooked little smile curving the lips that had just stolen her breath. Zach had flat out refused to let go of her hand for even long enough to check her lipstick, simply telling her that she was beautiful yet again. Megan had only his word that she didn’t look like she’d just made out with her partner in a hallway. Well, and the fact that he wasn’t wearing half her lipstick right now. She had to give the manufacturer good marks for actually being kiss proof.

And what a set of kisses. Megan tried not to stare at his lips like a love-sick teenager as he guided her down into a seat at the banquet table. She had kissed him first, but damn, Zach held up his end of it all. Megan could still feel his slow, sweet exploration of her mouth. She could still feel the gentle stroke of his hands and fierce, careful grip of his arms. She could taste him on her lips and wanted more. 

His hand released hers as he claimed the chair at her side against the Captain’s orders to intermingle with the Socialites and Benefactors that were the reason for this event. Zach even scooted his seat ever so slightly closer to hers as he sat in it. Then long fingers slid along her stomach before resting on her thigh under the table cloth. How was she supposed to eat with the heat of that hand burning against her skin? 

Megan sent him a little sideways glance and squirmed under his fingers. His smile said he knew she was a little nervous but all he did was settle that big hand a little higher on her leg and lick his lips. /\Damn, Zach, you trying to kill me?/\ She could feel the groan in her throat trying to escape. She’d imagined what his kiss might feel like within minutes of meeting him, of listening to him speak, imagined what those big, expressive hands might feel like against her skin. But today… he’d blown those little fantasies out of the water with just how good it felt to be held in his arms, touched, kissed. Her partner had set her nerves on fire with the heat in his eyes and the stroke of his hands. 

But it was so much more than just physical. Zach’s hands never felt better than they did on her stomach, cradling another man’s child. His eyes were never hotter than when he was worried about her. And damn if he didn’t control her blood pressure with the completely gentle stroke of his lips against hers. 

“Zach,” His hand tightened on her thigh at the sound of his name on her lips, the slide of his fingertips making the sound just a little more like a groan. If those fingers moved another inch, she was going to lead his hand somewhere it shouldn’t go in public. Megan bit her lip and dragged his hand off her leg to twine her fingers through his. She needed skin to skin contact, right now, and hands were a lot safer than following through with her urge to slide his hand under her skirt. 

“Shh, sweetheart, soon.” Zach leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek with a whisper. “Soon, Megan, but not here.” His thumb rubbed back and forth against her skin, almost as warming to her blood as his eyes on her face. Then he gave her a twist of a smile and turned to make small talk with the old woman wearing pearls on his other side. His fingers still played with hers during most of dinner, or along her stomach, or rested on her thigh, a warm reminder of the man sitting at her side. 

Never had really good food tasted so bland before in her life, and it was all Zach’s fault. And while she had always hated these kinds of events, never before had they felt so damn long. At the end of this little banquet, she was going to get his arms around her again, his lips to hers, and those gorgeous long-fingered hands on her skin. 

“How soon can we skip out on the rest of this?” Megan was leaning into the arm he had across the back of her seat. In the low light of the auditorium, she didn’t think anyone would notice the fact that his fingers were playing in her hair and his other hand was hot against her stomach. It would be even harder to see her hand resting on his knee and her head leaning against his shoulder. “We pregnant ladies need our sleep.” 

“My beautiful pregnant lady needs more than a good night’s sleep.” His voice in her ear sent little shivers up and down her back. “I think my partner needs a hot bath and a back rub for wearing high heels to this.” Zach brushed the lightest of kisses over her lips and pulled back far, far too soon. “We should stick out one more speech and then split.” Now the shivers traveled the entire length of her body. Just imagining Zach’s hands on her bare skin was … almost too much. Those long, artistic fingers sliding strong and warm over the aching muscles of her back… The heat of his breath against the back of her neck… Maybe his body pressed close and hot against hers. 

“Unless it’s dark enough in here to hide a real kiss, I think we should go now.” Megan rubbed her hand up and down the length of his thigh and pressed tight against his side. “Because you’ve been tempting me enough all night before offering me a back rub.”

“That’s the point, sweetheart. Let’s go.” Zach took her hand and moved them both to the coat check counter and then out to her car. The whole time, his hand never left the small of her back. /\Damn, I love your hands, Zach./\

000

A small hand rubbed up and down his thigh. Combined with the words on her lips, it was enough to drag the walls of his self-control a little lower. He was tempted too, tempted to lead that little hand higher and show her just how much of an effect she had on him. “That’s the point, sweetheart. Let’s go.” Zach brushed her hand off his knee and warmed his palm against her back. It was hard to let her completely out of his arms when they got to her car. Soon enough, he’d get more of her under his hands, but he shouldn’t distract her during the drive. 

“Zach,” Her little hands tightened against the wheel. But the sound of her voice made his hands clench in his lap. “Are you sure about this? About us?” Before his hungry eyes, Megan licked her lips and gave him a quick look with hot eyes. She wanted this, wanted him. It felt like his heart was trying to beat its way out of his ribs. His blood was pounding in his veins and pooling low in his stomach. /\Can’t kiss her while she’s driving, it’s too dangerous./\ 

But neither could he let her think for even a moment that he wanted her with anything less than every inch of his body. “Megan, this…” Zach caught her hand and pressed her palm against the front of his pants with a helpless groan. Her fingers curled just a little in a short, sweet stroke against his erection. “This is why I couldn’t stick it out another speech with you touching me. Your kiss, your hands, your eyes. Damnit, baby, I’m very sure.” 

He adored the way her breath caught in her throat and the slide of her tongue over her lip. Megan made a low, sweet little moan before dragging her hand away from his belt and back to the wheel. “Hold that thought, Zach.” 

Zach couldn’t help a smile at the almost desperate grip of her hands on the wheel and the extra press of her foot on the gas pedal. “We’re in no rush, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.” He watched her helplessly through the rest of the short drive to her place. The second the car was in park, Zach climbed out and circled to the driver’s side. Opening her door, he offered Megan a hand out of the car with a smile. “Megan?” 

Her eyes met his and his heart beat faster at the heat on her face. The hesitation, the insecurity, the guilt in her eyes that he’d seen and hated all night… it was all gone. As Megan took both his hands and stood up against his chest, she looked at him with nothing but heat and trust. She believed him, in his arms she felt beautiful. And she was beautiful, so beautiful he couldn’t help leaning down for a kiss. Sliding his arms around her waist, Zach dipped his head to get those lips against his own. Anything for the sweet taste of her on his tongue. Those little hands stroked up his chest to cling to his shoulders. Zach adored the soft little moan in the back of her throat as she deepened the kiss. 

“Zach,” Her hand slid along his jaw as she pulled back far too soon for his tastes. Her fingertips covered his lips when they reached for hers again. “Come inside.” 

She was right, making out against the side of the car couldn’t be a good idea. He kissed her fingertips and claimed that hand with his own. “Lead the way, sweetheart.” It was a little harder to step back from the warmth of her body along his, but he managed it. At her front door, Zach found his hands sliding around her waist from his place at her back, rubbing his palms over the curve of her stomach as she fumbled with her keys. The dip of her head drew his eyes and lips to the line of her neck for a line of kisses. Zach adored the soft sound she made, flicking the tip of his tongue over her pulse for another of those breathless little sighs. 

But he got even more. He got the sound of his name moaned from her lips and the press of the back of her body against the front of his. He got the slide of her hands along his wrists to twine their fingers together on her stomach. Zach forced himself to pull one hand free to finish unlocking the door. But if he kept her in his arms like this… whatever happened next would be far too rushed and not gentle enough. Weakly opening his arms, he pulled back enough to touch only one hand to her back. “Zach?” 

The puzzled little frown between her eyes and the way she reached for him took a pick-axe to his restraint. He held onto by the skin of his teeth. “So, which one first? The hot bath or the back rub?” 

She stepped closer, her hands resting against the heavy beat in his chest. “Zach? What if I want something else first?” Megan tilted her head back, locked her eyes on his lips, and licked her own. She was trying to kill him and damn she knew her stuff. /\Sweet Megan,/\ Zach was helpless before the soft little sound on those delicious lips, leaning down to give her the kiss she wanted first. It wasn’t enough, but if it meant cutting himself into bits, he would take this slow for her. Cupping her face in his hands, Zach fought for slow even as every inch of her body begged for something faster. Her nails dug into his back, her tongue teased his with sweet warmth, her voice groaned low and desperate against his lips. He slid an arm around her waist and forced himself to pull back. “Zach?” 

“Hmm, sweet Megan. I can’t hurt you and I will if we don’t slow this down.” He brushed a soft, tender kiss over her lips before meeting her eyes. “Let me show you, take care of you, make this better for both of us.” Zach watched the heat in her eyes fight against the idea. The woman in his arms wanted him, needed him so much it tested his restraint. “Hot bath or back rub, please, Megan.” Those hot eyes fell closed and she pulled in several deep breaths before she nodded. 

000

He was here, in her living room, holding her close and kissing her so sweetly and softly. It was heaven, but every inch of her body wanted more of his, faster, hotter, harder… now. And Zach wasn’t cooperating. Those strong hands on her face held the kiss slow and gentle as she groaned and dug nails into his skin. Then he took even the soft kiss away. “Zach?” 

/\What the hell…/\ She could feel how much he wanted this, so why in the hell was he pulling back. His eyes were dark and so hot as he looked down into her face. Zach’s face spoke volumes of need, of heat, of caring. “Hmm, sweet Megan. I can’t hurt you and I will if we don’t slow this down.” His lips touched hers so soft and so sweet before those warm eyes begged hers to understand. “Let me show you, take care of you, make this better for both of us.” She could change his mind with just a little effort. Megan was certain that with the heat in those eyes, she could get him to speed up enough for the pleading in her nerves. “Hot bath or back rub, please, Megan.” /\Damnit, Zach…/\ 

He was bound and determined to slow things down. If she chose the bath, Megan had no doubt he planned for her to be in that tub alone. At least the back rub would give her skin contact. “Okay, then I pick the back rub.” 

The smile that curved his lips tested her restraint before he leaned down for another soft, sweet kiss. “Thank you, Megan. Go slip into something more comfortable and I’ll get things ready out here.” Those hands rubbed up and down her back one more time before gently nudging her towards her bedroom door. Reluctantly, Megan moved out of his arms and closed the door behind her. Her reflection in the closet mirror made her wonder what in the hell it was that Zach saw when he looked at her, ‘cause she just didn’t see it. Tonight her lips were kiss swollen and her eyes were bright, his fingers had ruffled her hair and wrinkled her dress. Even all recently-loved looking, the most she could give herself was pretty. /\Zach thinks I’m beautiful…/\ 

Her personal nut ball was in the living room waiting to get his hands back on her. Time to hurry it up just a little. Losing the heels and the dress, Megan reached for a set of silk pajamas. Covered but still accessible. Hesitating for a moment, she considered whether or not to keep on a bra. Just imagining those strong hands and long fingers on her skin made the decision for her. 

And anything she could do to speed him up a little was a good idea. “Zach,” Megan turned the corner back into the living room to find him rolling up his sleeves. 

Two of her kitchen chairs were sitting facing each other edge to edge. A bath towel was draped over the back of one chair while his tux jacket lay over the other. A bottle of her favorite lotion sat on the floor near his feet. His eyes ran up and down her body in a wave of warmth. And his hands clenched. “Megan, you are…”

“Beautiful, I know.” Megan found herself moving closer without thinking about it, wanting and needing him even closer.

“I really don’t think you do. But we’ll work on that. Come here, Megan.” One hand reached for hers as the other slid over her stomach. His smile made her knees go weak, but his arms guided her down onto the chair backwards before the shaking got too bad. “Scoot up,” 

Folding her arms over the back of the chair, Megan rested her cheek on the towel to look at him over her shoulder. She loved the look on his face as he moved closer with lotion in one big hand. “That’s my favorite lotion, Zach.” 

“I know. It smells like you.” He waved the open bottle under his nose with a smile that made her hands shake. “Your back, my lady?” Megan bit her lip and faced forward. The buttons were slippery under her fingertips as she slid each one out of the fabric and let the pajama top slide down her back to pool on Zach’s knees. “Me--- oh, sweetheart, Megan.” One gentle fingertip traced the length of her bare spine from the base of her neck to the waistband of her pants. “This is … not helping us go slow, darling.” Her breathing still hadn’t recovered a normal rhythm when his lips touched between her shoulder blades and his hands curved around her hips in a gentle grip. 

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move a muscle even though every single inch of her wanted to. She could only feel the tiny area of his skin against hers as if it covered all of her. She trembled under his lips and the touch of his hands, desperate for more contact. “Zach, please.” Those hands spread warm and wide against the small of her back, dragging heat up her skin as he kissed a path along her shoulder. His fingertips stopped on her ribs, just barely touching the edges of her breasts. “Please,” Need somehow got the nerves in her hands to work past the tremors in her fingers. Megan found her palms on the backs of Zach’s hands, pulling those fingers forward to cup her aching breasts. So warm, so strong, so damn good. Megan breathed a wordless groan as he finally stroked and explored the skin that was begging for his touch. “Zach, yes…” 

His voice rumbled low and desperate over her skin as his arms pulled her tight against his chest. “Megan,” Her head fell back over his shoulder, her body moving helplessly into the stroke and heat of his hands. At the small of her back, she could feel him, hard and ready and so close. Zach pressed closer, kissing along her throat with hungry lips. “So soft, so warm, so damn beautiful. My sweet Megan.” 

Megan wanted, needed his kiss. Right now. Turning her head, she reached for those lips with her own. “Zach, please… I need…” His eyes were hot, watching his own hands on her skin with a need that stole her breath. Zach really wanted this, really needed her. Nothing in the world made her feel more beautiful than the look in his eyes right now. “Zach…”

“Anything, sweetheart. Tell me…” He wanted the kiss too, eyes warming her lips. Megan couldn’t breathe enough to say it, but that wasn’t going to stop her. Tilting her head, she caught those delicious lips and desperately explored the warm, sweet depth of his kiss. /\Zach,/\

000


	3. Chapter 3

000

Defining Beauty  


By AnitaB  


Chapter 3: The beauty of touch 

/\Good, sweet mother of God./\ She was so damn beautiful, sitting between his knees completely topless. The smooth lines of her back called to his hands. Out of sight, but not out of mind, her breasts and the curve of her stomach tempted him. If he touched anything other than her back right now, he couldn’t trust himself to go slow. 

Zach forced himself to a snail’s pace, gentle touches and kisses against the smooth, soft heat of her back. Then his hands got just a little greedy. Flattening his hands against her hips, he rubbed hungry palms and fingers up every inch of her back. His fingers curled around her ribs to barely touch the edges of her curves. It took every ounce of his self control to hold still. 

The body under his hands went stone still, trembling so hard against his fingers. Her voice made his breathe catch. “Please,” /\Anything, love, anything./\ Then she moved and stole every last bit of his self control. Her hands guided his to the delicious curves of her breasts, filling his palms with the softest, hottest skin he’d ever touched. “Zach, yes…” 

/\Yes, so perfect./\ He couldn’t stop once she was in his hands. His fingers explored those soft, sweet curves as his lips fed at the arched and vibrating line of her throat. “Megan,” He needed to see this, to watch her nipples stiffen at the slide of his fingers. Needed to feel her body against every inch of his own. Pressing harder against her back, Zach locked his eyes to his hands. “So soft, so warm, so damn beautiful. My sweet Megan.” Her hips rocked back against his, driving a shiver down his nerves. 

She shifted in his arms, warm and soft. “Zach, please… I need…” He felt her eyes on his face and dragged his gaze off her breasts before getting distracted by her lips. /\So Beautiful…/\ “Zach…”

“Anything, sweetheart. Tell me…” She could ask him for anything and he’d give it to her without a moment of hesitation. Zach watched her lips move like she was trying to speak but the words didn’t come. Even better was the slide of her lips over his. /\Yes, sweetheart, always…/\ He’d never in a million years get enough of her kiss. He’d never get enough of her skin under his hands. One palm slid down her ribs, giving up the soft weight of her breast for the firm, hot curve of her stomach. A tiny thump against the middle of his hand made his throat tight. This woman in his arms was so much more to him than soft skin and hot kisses. She was his partner and a mother. And she deserved so much more than the frantic rush his nerves were begging for. “Megan,” 

Zach dragged up the tiniest fragments of self-control and pulled away from her kiss. “Zach,” Her hand clutched at his against her stomach, her lips reaching for his with a soft groan. 

“No, sweetheart. We need to slow down.” Weakly pulling his hands from her skin, he picked up the dropped lotion and poured some into his hand. “Lean forward, I promised you a back rub.” The look on her face made him laugh. It was the expression of every child he’d ever seen when told that they couldn’t have cookies before dinner. “We’ll get there, Megan, I promise. Just… let me touch you, feel you first. Before you make me lose control.” He felt the groan in the back of his throat at her bitten lip and the heat in her eyes. “Lean forward, please.” 

She groaned low in her throat before folding her arms on the back of the kitchen chair, presenting him with the expanse of bare skin. Gorgeous skin, pale and smooth. “Better be a damn good massage.” 

Rubbing his palms together to warm the lotion, Zach thought about the times he watched her rub her back. /\Neck and lower back, better not miss an inch./\ “It will be, baby. Trust me.” He smoothed the lotion up her back in a soft, thorough stroke of his palms over her skin. Under his hands, her body arched slightly as she pressed her forehead against the towel and groaned in her throat. /\There,/\ Zach listened to the small movements of her back and followed with his fingers to the sore spot at the base of her spine. “I see you rub right here when the hours of desk work build up.” He pressed the heel of his hand in a firm, deep circle across the top of her hips. A smile crossed his lips at the breathless little moan on hers. “There, sweetheart?”

“Hmm, yeah. Right there, Zach.” The sound of her voice saying his name like that made his hands tremble in the next stroke against her skin. She was going to make him lose control with just her voice, just his name on her lips. Zach found his lips on her shoulder, kissing his way to her neck as his hands rubbed and heated every inch of the small of her back. Her next little moan came with the helpless grip of her tiny hands against his thighs. “Zach,” Her hips pressed back into the front of his, making his hands clench and his breath catch. She felt so blindingly good, he found himself clinging to her hips for another arch, press and rub. 

“Megan, sweetheart, I’m trying for slow here.” His lips moved along her throat to press a kiss to her pulse. “You’re not helping me slow down right now.” Now his hands tried to hold her still, but his strong-willed Megan wasn’t having it. 

“I don’t want slow, Zach, I want you. I want more.” Her body pressed closer, harder against his, her head leaning back on his shoulder with a shiver and a moan. Her hips rubbed against his erection in a smooth arc and stroke. “I want this. I love your hands, Zach, but Damnit, I want all of you.” 

/\You love my hands, huh?/\ He had an idea. Zach would give her all of him, but not just yet. First, he would use these hands she loved to give her as much pleasure as he could. Then, his sweet Megan would be ready for more of him. “Let’s see how much you really love my hands.”

000

She could feel him thinking too hard at her back. And the last thing Megan wanted was for Zach to talk himself out of this. “I don’t want slow, Zach, I want you. I want more.” She couldn’t help moaning as her hips rubbed back against his. She could feel him, pressed long, hard and too damn far away against the small of her back. He wasn’t close enough but that wasn’t stopping her from rubbing her hips along his erection. /\More, Zach, please./\ “I want this. I love your hands, Zach, but Damnit, I want all of you.”

Those gorgeous hands moved, sliding from her hips to the curve of her stomach. Then he spoke and just the heat in his voice had her moaning. “Let’s see how much you really love my hands.” Megan knew what he had in mind when those fingertips edged under the elastic waistband of her sleep pants. And if those hands had even a fraction of the talent they’d used on her back when they explored between her legs, she knew he’d never stop smiling. Her nails clenched in the fabric of his pants. Her neck arched along with every inch of her back, trying to get his hands where she needed them. Zach kissed her shoulder, putting his lips near her ear for the next little teasing comment. “Hmm, you do want this, don’t you, Megan? I haven’t even touched you yet, and you’re practically jumping out of your skin for me.” 

“So touch me, Zach, and see what happens then.” Megan leaned flat against his chest and licked a line along his throat. “Touch me and see.” She had barely enough time to pull in a shaky breath before he took her at her word and cupped a big hand between her thighs. Megan could feel his smile against the skin of her shoulder as every inch of her body arched into the touch of that hand. It was like he had a mental map of her nerve endings because every little stroke, touch, press, and glide of his fingertips over her skin sent the heat in her blood climbing higher. His smile moved to the line of her throat and got even wider as her body shook and trembled in his arms. “Za… Zach, please.” 

“There, sweetheart?” Two long fingers pressed slow and deep, sending a wave of heat along her every fucking nerve. Megan dug her nails into the muscles of his thighs to brace the mindless plunge of her hips onto his hand. “Yeah, right there, Megan.” Those fingers curled inside her, hitting nerves that sent a spasm through her muscles. His tongue stroked her skin before he gave a low, masculine chuckle that made it even harder for her to breathe. “Oh yeah, baby, right there. I got you.” 

Oh, he had her. He was about to have her screaming his name in his lap while he was still covered from collar to toe. With nothing more than the stroke of his hand. /\Oh, yes, please, Zach./\ She wanted skin against her own, but her hands weren’t working well enough to even attempt to open his shirt buttons. All Megan was capable of at the moment was holding on tight and feeling the climax slowly building its way up her spine. She needed more of him, just a little something to push her over the edge, a kiss. “Zach, kiss me.” 

“Always,” Those gorgeous lips caught hers just as that hand plunged a little deeper, a little harder. His other hand cupped her breast, fingertips stroking and circling the sensitive nerves of her nipple. /\Almost, Zach, please./\ “So soft, so warm, so beautiful. I wanna see you feel it, Megan. Show me.” Zach shifted her in his arms, turning her just enough. Enough to dip his head and put that gorgeous mouth to her breast with his eyes locked to her face. “So sweet, Megan. Show me.”

The edge, just out of reach a moment before, rushed over her with the stroke of his tongue and his fingers. Everything faded into a cloud of light and static as every nerve in her body ignited all at once. She thought she screamed his name. She was a little more certain that she’d drawn blood with her nails despite the fold of his pants in the way. Megan knew for a fact that she collapsed in his arms, was cradled against his chest as she relearned how to breathe. 

Slowly, Megan forced her grip open along with her eyes to find him smiling at her. “Zach,” He met her halfway for a deep, soft kiss, his hand cupping her face. She could feel how much he wanted her, in his kiss, in the grip of his arms, in the press of his erection against her hip. She could feel the self-control in the lines of his body against hers. “That was…”

“Beautiful,” His hands rested on her stomach in the moment before he stole another quick kiss. 

“I was thinking amazing.” Megan wanted more. She wanted to feel and watch him lose control. She wanted to explore her partner without his clothes in the way. “And I’m thinking it’s time that you lose the clothes so I can return the favor.” She rocked her hips against his just to see the heat jump in his eyes and hear the groan in his voice. His hands clenched just a little.

“Megan, please.”

With a smile, Megan turned in his arms to put both her hands on his chest. “Tell me what you need, Zach, tell me what you want.” That close to what she wanted, her hands started working on his buttons while he looked her up and down before meeting hers. “Zach, tell me.”

“I want you, Megan. I want to hold you, make love to you.” His hands cupped her face and guided her closer. “I don’t want to hurt you, sweetheart.” The heat and concern on his face tightened her chest. “I can’t let myself hurt you.” 

“You won’t, Zach, but if you want any clothes you can still wear to leave this apartment at any point this week,” Megan brushed a quick kiss over his lips with a smile. “Then you better help me get you out of these.” Enough buttons on his shirt had given way to expose his chest. /\That’s my Zach,/\ He was hot, hard, and trembling under her hands as her fingers slid into his shirt to explore that lean chest. Zach felt so good under her skin, his arms tightening around her body. /\Closer is good./\ Megan leaned closer, breathing in the addictive scent of his cologne from the line of his neck. In the process, she pressed her naked chest into the gap of his shirt to bury the hungry nerves of her breasts into the hard lines of his chest. /\So hot, so damn good./\ “Zach, please…”

000

She was… /\Oh, fucking hell, yes…./\ burning him alive with the heat of her bare skin cuddling against his chest. The sweet, soft curves of her breasts cradled the racing beat of his heart. The firm, hot curve of her stomach pressed close against his. Her face tucked into the line of his shoulder with a whole body shiver and a deep, shaky breath. And her hips rocked against his as every gorgeous inch of her body pressed closer and hotter against his every hungry nerve. “Zach, please…” 

Her voice was the last straw. His sweet Megan had finally broken the last lines of his control. Zach was going to helplessly give her anything and everything she wanted and hope he could be gentle enough. Starting with a kiss. “Sweet, Megan.” One hand planted itself hot and tight against the line of her back to keep her flush against his chest. The other cupped her chin to guide her lips up to his. “My beautiful Megan.” Her eyes fluttered in the moment before his lips caught hers. She groaned around his tongue as he desperately held her closer and deepened this delicious kiss. /\Megan,/\ 

Her hips rubbed his as her legs slipped higher up his thighs to hook her knees around his body. One more little shift of her body over his and he was going to find out just how sturdy her kitchen table was… /\Damnit, sweetheart./\ “Hold on tight, Megan.” Wrapping his arms tight around her hips, Zach gathered her tight against his chest with her top in one fist. When her arms tightened and her legs crossed behind his hips, he got to his feet and headed for her bedroom with his girl cradled in his arms. 

“Finally, Zach,” There was a rough little giggle in her voice as she kissed up and down the line of his throat. Her fingers slid into his hair as he lowered her to the edge of her bed. “I thought you’d never speed up.” 

“With something this beautiful just waiting for me… how could I resist?” Zach was on his knees at the side of the bed, eyes helplessly following his own hands over her skin. She was soft, warm, and smooth under his desperate fingers. “Megan, lift up.” Her body arched against his hands, helping those fingers slide the last of the clothes down her legs. Megan was naked, completely bare and gorgeous in his arms. He had every intention of taking advantage of every inch of her skin as soon he could move at all. Leaning up, Zach kissed a line along the curve of her stomach, filling his hands with the soft skin of her thighs. “Sweet Megan,”

“Hmm, Zach… no.” She pressed both hands on his shoulders to push him back just a bit. “What did I say about your clothes?” Her fingers slid under the edge of his open shirt, shoving it back over his shoulders with a groan. 

“That I should take them off.” Zach cupped her face in both hands for a hard, deep kiss before he dragged himself back from her skin. “You hinted that they might be damaged if I didn’t. My violent little Megan.” He watched her eyes as he peeled that shirt off and threw it to the floor. The look on her face made breathing a little harder. “Do you want them all gone?” His fingers closed over his belt buckle just in time to feel her groan light up every nerve in his body. The heat in her eyes was melting his bones. “Was that a yes, Megan?” 

“Cruel Bastard, it’s a yes.” Megan dragged her nails down his shoulders with a grin. “If you don’t strip it all off, I might have to put some clothes back on. You wouldn’t want that, would you, Zach?” Her fingertips danced over his chest to press hot palms to his heart. “Since I’m beautiful?” She was killing him and she was enjoying it. And she finally believed she was beautiful. /\So damn beautiful./\

“That’s my girl,” Zach opened the belt, popping the button and sliding down the zipper, all the while watching the heat on her face get even hotter. Her fingers twitched and clenched against his chest. His Megan wanted him, wanted to touch him. It was more than beautiful. “That’s my beautiful girl. Get into the bed.” 

“Only if you hurry.” Megan took her hands off his skin and scooted back towards the middle of the mattress. His skin felt just a little cold even with her eyes still on him. “I want you in here with me.” 

Zach couldn’t help smiling as he kicked off his shoes and slacks. Megan bit her lip, hot eyes watching as the last of his clothes fell away and he climbed onto the bed near her feet. “I’m right here, Megan. Lay back.” His breath caught in his throat at just how beautiful she was stretched out completely bare and reaching for him. “So beautiful,” His hands acted on their own, catching her legs just above her ankles. His lips acted on their own, kissing a line up the inside of her leg to the sound of her breathless moan.

“Zach, please.” Her hands clenched in his hair as her body arched under his. Cupping her hips in his hands, Zach struggled a little to hold her still. He wasn’t done with her yet, not by a long shot. Smiling against her knee, he licked a quick path up the top of her thigh to place a soft kiss on her hip. Her grip tightened along with every muscle in her body. So responsive, so delicious. Moaning his name. “Damnit, Zach, I need you.” 

He found himself kneeling in order to kiss his way over her stomach and up her ribs. With his lips over her heart, Zach looked up into her eyes with a smile. “What do you need, sweetheart?” He couldn’t resist stroking just the very tips of his fingers along any skin he could reach. Her lips opened soundlessly for a moment or two, her hands clutching at his arms as if for balance. “Tell me.” 

Then it was his turn to gasp wordlessly as one of those tiny beautiful hands slipped down his side to curl around his erection. /\Oh, sweet hell, Megan./\ The lips he would never get enough of smiled at him as he helplessly arched and thrust against her fingers. “I need this, Zach.” Those gorgeous fingers squeezed him, as if he didn’t know exactly where she was touching him. “I want to feel you closer, so close. I need you, Zach, now.” 

“Let me… be gentle…” Zach caught her wrists and guided her arms up above her head. “Let me make this so damn good for you.” He pulled her legs around his waist and fisted his hands in the sheets next to her ribs. He needed inside her, needed her kiss, but couldn’t crush her under his body. He had to control himself better than this. “Give me a kiss,” Zach leaned down, bracing his elbows in the mattress to keep his weight off her chest, and reached for her lips. The kiss was soft, a gentle reminder to every other nerve in his body. /\Slow, careful./\ 

Her mouth left his with a sharp gasp as Zach pressed slow and careful into her heat. She was… absolute heaven. Hot, soft, wet and taking him deeper a needy inch at a time. The pleasure on her face was the only thing that mattered as he fought the pleading of his nerves to move gently. The soft stroke of her fingers on his face and the gasp of his name on her lips made it just a little harder to control the plunge of his body into hers. /\Fuck, so soft and tight. Megan…/\ 

When his hips rested flush against hers, he stopped to catch a breath off the warmth of her lips. “Zach… hmm… you feel…” If he let her describe this, this amazing heat and desperate need…he might lose the edge of his restraint. Zach caught her lips before the words could finish, letting the kiss be as deep and hard as he wanted to thrust between her legs. 

000


	4. Chapter 4

000

Defining Beauty  
By AnitaB  
Chapter 4: Losing control 

He was burning hot and hard as steel in her hand. Megan simply adored the wordless gasp on his lips as his hips thrust the hard length of him through her grip. Zach wanted her this much. Six months pregnant, big as a whale, and his man was holding onto his self control with a weak, shiny little thread. Megan felt more beautiful than she could imagine possible in his arms. She couldn’t help smiling at the arch of his body and the rough breathless sound in his throat. “I need this, Zach.” Megan tightened her fingers just a little bit around his erection. /\No way to misunderstand me here, got it, Zach?/\ “ I want to feel you closer, so close. I need you, Zach, now.” 

A long, slow shudder shook through the body pressed so close along her own before his fingers closed around her wrists. “Let me… be gentle…” Her hands were placed on the pillow above her head, her legs were guided around his hips. “Let me make this so damn good for you.” He arranged them both on the sheets so that nearly every inch of their skin touched but not an ounce of his weight pressed down on her. “Give me a kiss,” His voice alone put a shiver down her back. She’d never in her life heard that much heat in a man’s voice before. His arms braced in the mattress under her back as his lips claimed hers in an incredibly soft and gentle kiss. 

Somewhere in the middle of that kiss, Zach started the first slow thrust inside her. His eyes were locked on her face as she gasped and arched into that slow press of flesh. His face was painted in tension and worry. She knew he would stop the second he could read any pain on her face. But this didn’t hurt. This felt so fucking good she couldn’t help groaning his name and running hungry fingertips over his skin. 

He was…so hard, silk over steel dragging along what felt like every nerve in her entire body. His hands were fisted in the sheets near her head, every inch of his body was as tense as piano wire for the last few inches of that first thrust. When every glorious inch of his erection was finally inside her, he stopped moving, breathing raggedly against her lips. This felt so damn perfect that Megan fought for the breath to tell him. “Zach… hmm… you feel…”

He moved then. One strong hand caught the back of her head and dragged her willing lips to his. The gentleness of his body over and inside hers was a sharp contrast to the fierce desperation of his kiss. An agile tongue thrust hard and deep past her lips, bringing with it his taste and the sound of a harsh groan. “Oh, sweet love, Megan.” She adored the feel of him above and inside her, loved the sound of his voice practically growling her name, gloried in the fierce slide of his fingers over the back of her neck. But he still wasn’t moving. 

Every nerve in her body pleaded for movement, for friction, for every inch of his long, lean body pushing hers higher, harder. “Zach, hell yes, Zach.” Megan found her nails buried in his shoulders and her heels crossed behind his hips. He groaned low in his throat when her hips moved just a little against his. Then it was her turn to make a desperate wordless sound as he met that half-thrust with a careful plunge of his own. Megan closed her eyes to focus on the feel of Zach finally moving inside her. Then he stopped. Again.

“Baby, please, don’t close your eyes. I need to watch you, to see if…” His fingertips traced the side of her face as his body trembled above hers. 

“Damnit, Zach. You’re not hurting me, okay?” Megan dragged him close for a deep, hard kiss, wrapping her legs tight around his waist before locking her eyes to his. “It feels so fucking good just to have you inside me, but I need more. Just let go and feel this with me. Please.” She felt something move through every inch of the body against hers before those lips smiled and those hips plunged. /\Oh, yeah, like that./\

“My demanding little Megan,” Zach braced his elbows in the mattress and his hands against the line of her ribs. The next thrust of his body into hers was just that little bit harder, sending a shiver and an arch up her back. “Is that what my Megan wants?” 

/\Fuck, yes./\ Megan found her nails piercing the skin of his back as her back helplessly arched into the rhythm of his hips. “Yeah, Zach, this is what I want. I want more.” The next thrust of his hips drove a gasp off her lips. Her Zach was smiling as he leaned closer for a kiss, she’d never get enough of kissing him. Opening for the delicious invasion of his tongue, Megan buried her fingers in his hair and tightened her legs around his waist. He felt so damn good, but he still wasn’t close enough, deep enough. Biting gently at his lush lower lip, she groaned into his mouth and dug her nails into his lower back. Megan loved the little shiver that shook its way through his whole body. “Harder, Zach, please.” 

He pulled back enough to cup her face in his hands and search her eyes with his own. Megan bit her own lip and nodded ‘yes’ to the question in his face. “Your eyes close, I stop. I need to see you, need to know…” The arch of his hips sent heat through every nerve in her body, leaving Megan to fight the pleasure flooding her to keep her eyes open for him. It felt… /\That’s it, yes, Zach./\ Every delicious inch of him plunged deep, hard, and steady, igniting heat in her every nerve. There was something so incredibly perfect and intimate about his hands on her face and his eyes locked with hers for every thrust of his hips. 

Any minute now, Zach was going to send her crashing into orgasm and she could only hope this felt as good to him as he made her feel. “Zach, so close, right there, yes.” 

She adored his smile especially when it was followed by the hardest thrust yet, giving her every inch of him deeper than he’d ever been. “Right here, baby. I’ve got you, Megan. So close.” 

000

She was killing him, but goddamn it felt so good. Megan was hot, sweet, and driving him mad. Sharp little nails clawed at his back as her legs tried to pull him deep, deeper. Her teeth nipped at his lip before she smiled into a kiss. Zach knew Megan could feel exactly what she was doing to him as he helplessly shivered above her. /\Sweet love, Megan./\ “Harder, Zach, please.” 

There was nothing he wanted more, but he needed to know… needed to feel her feel good. Giving up the heat of her kiss, Zach searched her face, cupping his hands around her jaw. Groaning at the heat in her eyes and the way she was biting her lip. She really wanted this, wanted him. He wasn’t going to hurt the precious woman in his arms if he gave her what they both wanted. “Your eyes close, I stop. I need to see you, need to know…” 

She nodded between his hands, her hands tightening against his skin as her eyes locked to his face. The sweet breathless groan his first hard thrust put to her lips… /\oh, sweet hell, Baby./\ She felt so good, sounded so beautiful. Zach knew that this was what he’d been searching for, this woman in his arms. He needed to always be able to hold her, touch her, feel her this way. Megan was going to steal his control with the heat of her body and the sweet sound of her voice. /\Yes, my sweet Megan, give me more./\ Each plunge of his body into hers was just a little harder than the one before, and in her eyes he could only see pleasure. Not a bit of pain. “Zach, so close, right there, yes.”

This was what he needed, to see her climax in his arms, to feel it around every desperate inch of his body. Holding the angle, Zach thrust even harder, burying every hungry nerve of his body deeper inside her heat. “Right here, baby. I’ve got you, Megan. So close.” He gave up the heat of her eyes for the taste of her kiss. One hand moved on its own, stroking down the soft, sweet lines of her body to slip between her legs. /\So hot, baby./\ The sudden tightening of her every muscle brought a quick laugh to his lips. “Oh yeah, baby, right here. Are you ready to come for me, sweetheart?” 

Her eyes fell closed, but he knew it wasn’t pain. The low, sweet gasp on her lips was pure pleasure. So was the sharp sting of her nails in his shoulders. He adored the sight and feel of every gorgeous inch of her body trembling against and around him. She was so close to that edge. Zach just needed to give her a little more and then he would get to feel heaven in his arms. Brushing a soft kiss against her lips, he dragged a line of heat down her throat to the curves of her breasts. Groaning around the taste of her nipple, Zach thrust hard and deep between her gorgeous thighs, holding her desperately rocking hips still around the length of his erection. “Oh… Za… Zach… please!” /\So soft, so tight, so damn deep./\ 

Her voice told him that she was riding the edge. The twitch, arch, and tremble of all her muscles told him she was closer with each one. “Megan, come for me, baby. I’ve got you. Show me.” Zach trailed his lips over the curves of her breasts before kissing the pounding heart between them. He waited through another desperate moan on her lips and another arch of her hips before he moved. A twist and arch of his hips rubbed the tip of his erection even deeper, giving a quick, pulsing set of thrusts right against that spot inside her. “Come on, Megan, please.” 

Her body arched in his arms, eyes clenched, nails digging into the back of his neck. Every inch of her trembled and shook in the moment before she shattered in his arms with a cry of his name. Nothing in the entire world felt better than this woman dragging him right over the edge with a beautiful climax in his arms. 

He thought he collapsed in her arms. He was pretty certain he shouted her name loud enough to wake the neighbors. He knew for a fact that he left finger marks on the sweet curves of her hips. Fighting for breath against her lips, Zach forced his grip open and slid one hand up her side to cup her cheek. “My sweet Megan.” 

He watched her eyes drift slowly open before she smiled at him. Her nails uncurled from his shoulders before her fingers slid along his jaw with a gentle touch. “Zach,” The look on her face invited him down for a kiss. An invitation he was happy to accept. Soft, sweet lips opened under his with a moan he felt in every nerve in his body. Her arms wrapped around his neck to bring him closer. /\Anytime, sweetheart./\ 

Getting lost in her kiss, Zach wrapped his arms around her ribs and rolled to his back with his girls cuddled close against his chest. Both his girls were almost close enough. Megan’s heartbeat against his chest was quick, steady. The baby kicked him gently in the gut as her mother relaxed into the warm grip of his arms. Zach finally had them and he wasn’t ever letting them go again. 

“Megan, you’re mine, sweetheart.” He breathed a low, harsh sound against her lips before claiming a quick, deep kiss. “And so is she…” Zack pressed his hand wide against the curve of her stomach, watching her face soften and her teeth sink into her lip. “And I’m not letting either of you go. I love you, Megan, and Damnit I’m her daddy.” 

It wasn’t often that he got to see the brilliant Megan Wheeler completely shocked. But before his eyes she gasped, mouth and eyes wide with surprise. Her hands spread wide against the wall of his chest. Her eyes locked on his face, searching for something there. Zach kept the one hand against her stomach and slid the other up to her face. /\Find what you need, baby./\ “Do… do you mean that, Zach? Really mean it?” Her fingers were trembling on his skin as she leaned closer.

“Yes, Megan, I mean every word.” He knew his voice was shaking as hard as his fingers against her skin. But this… this was the most important thing he’d ever said and he needed her to believe him. “Every single word.” 

Something moved through her. A shiver traveled the length of her body, trembling every inch of her skin against his. Her hand tightened, her nails dragging just a little over his chest. Her teeth sank into her lip as her eyes fell closed and her forehead rested against his. /\Please, baby./\ “Zach, I love you so much it scares me. And my baby is the luckiest girl in the world to get you for a daddy.” 

Every single nerve in his body relaxed at those words on her lips. “Sweet Megan,” Gathering her closer against every inch of his skin, Zach pulled her lips to his, trying to put everything he felt into the kiss. It would never be enough, but just maybe it would do. /\My sweet Megan./\

000

This was heaven. Nothing in the world felt better than this man in her arms, in her body while the pleasure crashed over them both. Megan was drowning joyously in the heat of his skin against every eager inch of her own. She adored the shout of her name off his lips and the last thrust of his body into hers. At this moment, Zach was completely out of control and she loved it. The grip of his hands was bruising her hips as his body collapsed over hers. 

Together they fought to breathe past the rush of their blood through their veins. Megan slowly surfaced, finding his hand on her face and her nails in his back. Weakly opening her grip, she slid both arms around his neck and leaned up for his kiss with a soft whisper of his name. Megan needed a kiss to make this feeling real, to ground this moment of bliss in the warm, sweet touch of lips. 

She would never get enough of Zach’s kiss, never get enough of his arms around her and his hands on her skin. He kept her distracted with the gentle twist and dance of his tongue while Zach rolled to his back and held her tight against his chest. She settled closer along the lean lines of his chest and deeper into the kiss. It was like he didn’t want her heartbeat to slow down. The little girl inside her delighted in the heat, kicking Zach against her stomach. 

Megan was nowhere near done with the kiss when he gently pushed her back enough to see her eyes. His eyes were burning hot, one hand running through her hair to keep her just where he wanted her. “Megan, you’re mine, sweetheart.” Warm lips opened almost against her own, groaning the words before stealing the breath from her lungs with a hard, fast kiss. “And so is she…” Before she’d started breathing again, a big hand spread wide over her stomach, cradling the baby girl inside her. Zach wanted both of them, claimed both of them. Megan could read it in his eyes. /\Oh, Zach…/\ If her teeth sank any deeper into her lip, she was going to draw blood. “And I’m not letting either of you go. I love you, Megan, and Damnit I’m her daddy.” 

He wanted her to die of shock right here in his arms. What else could she do when this gorgeous man offered her everything she’d ever wanted with that wealth of heat in his face. If Megan believed him, believed that look in his eyes and the pounding of his heart under her hands, if she let herself believe the little voice in her heart… Zack cupped a gentle hand against her face and pulled her just a little closer. “Do… do you mean that, Zach? Really mean it?” 

His eyes showed his answer before his lips moved. But when they did, Megan couldn’t help but hear the truth shaking his voice. “Yes, Megan, I mean every word.” Even his fingers were shaking as he tried to put his every emotion into his eyes. “Every single word.” 

Every single inch of her body felt the truth, shook with it. Her muscles went weak, shaky. Megan slowly collapsed against his chest, her eyes falling closed and her nails digging just a little to keep the world from spinning. /\Thank you, oh yes, thank you./\ He loved her, loved her baby. And she owed him the same risk and honesty he’d given her. But that meant she had to breathe enough to speak. “Zach, I love you so much it scares me. And my baby is the luckiest girl in the world to get you for a daddy.”

The body under hers breathed a hard sigh of relief, shaking from head to toe as he pulled her closer. His voice made her hands clench as he moaned her name against her lips and dragged her down for a kiss. This was heaven. 

000


End file.
